One Friday Night
by elizarocks9902
Summary: I just woke up one morning with my undead foster mom banging on my chicken coop, trying to eat my chickens. Let's just say, I'm not all that happy with corpses all of a sudden just walking around, eating people alive and then the eaten people becoming undead, but when the world I knew gets devoured by this gory new one, things are never easy for long.
1. Saturday Stress

**Original story by naruko88558855**

 _'Well that was more boring than usual.'_ I thought as I started walking from the bus stop to my house, which just so happened to be five blocks away. When I arrived at my long dirt driveway I sighed. My foster parents lived in a house at the end of a dead end road. After two minutes of walking I met a rust covered old fence gate, and I opened it and allowed myself in. I shut the gate back up and then turn back to my house, walking past my chickens who were now looking up at me, expecting food.

I walk into the house and I'm immediately bombarded with my foster parents yelling at me, telling me that since I'd gotten in trouble at school today (which I actually hadn't) I wasn't getting supper tonight. Shrugging, I sat my backpack down and went back outside to feed my animals. I went to the chicken coop and, after putting the chicken into the coop, I fed them and went to feed my dogs. I went up to the large metal trash can and took of the lid, revealing it to be full of dog food with a measuring cup sitting at the top. I grabbed the three dog bowls and filled them up before setting them on the porch. I then emptied the water bowls and refilled them with the hose as well before setting them next to the dog food. I used the whistle round my neck to let the dogs know food was out before going back inside to get washed off.

When I went back into the house my foster parents reminded me that I couldn't have supper with them, so I just went into the bathroom to shower. After washing my hair and washing off I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself before I walked to my bedroom. When I entered the room I put on my black yoga pants and my black lace lined tank-top, grabbed a bag of salsa chips and an unopened jar of salsa and put it onto my bed, grabbing my tablet as well before I plopped onto my bed, sending the salsa jar flying onto the floor. Thankful the glass didn't break, and I picked it back up and started eating my chips and salsa as I watched some Wizards of Waverly Place on Netflix, the only fun thing I had on my tablet besides music.

Thankfully it was Friday today, so I didn't have to worry about falling asleep in class because, by the time I stopped watching my show, it was 3:47 A.M. Sighing, I plugged my IPad into the charger and threw away the now empty bag of chips and jar of salsa before exiting my room, my aim to go into the bathroom and brush my teeth. After doing so I went to my bedroom and fell asleep, extremely tired.

 **A Few Hours Later**

When I woke up at around 11:23 A.M. I heard someone banging on my chicken coops fence. Growling, I quickly grabbed my fully equipped with a silencer and flashlight riffle and stalked downstairs to the front porch. You might ask why I had such a riffle, but the answer is simple... I took it from my foster father. He had a bunch of hunting guns so it's not like he cares about one being missing, and since he didn't talk or rant about it being missing, no harm done right.

It turned out to be my foster mother banging and yanking on the fence, and I rolled my eyes at her backside. "HEY! WOMAN! GET AWAY FROM MY CHICKENS!" When she turned I saw that she was different. Let us see the problem. Milky white eyes, quickly decaying skin and... Did she just _growl_ at me? As she started stumbling towards me I figured out that she, my foster mother, had turned into a zombie! I quickly shot her in the head. I walked over to the fallen body, and the bloody bite on the corpses neck confirmed what I'd suspected. I heard a groan behind me and turned to see my foster father standing there, his arm had a bite and he looked extremely pale and weak.

"C-Carmen. Help m-me." And I did just that. I shot him in the head to save him from the fate of turning. He was already pale, and the bite looked like it had been there for to long, so i knew there was nothing else I could do. When he dropped I turned and saw my neighbors house, a nice man lived there by the name of Jon, and he, along with his deceased wife who'd died a few years ago, had been the ones to truly raise me, so I immediately hopped over the hole filled fence and dashed to their place, my riffle in hand.

When I came up to the front door it was slightly ajar, so I opened it all the way and poked through with my riffle first. I made my way through the house and didn't find anyone, the last place I searched was the kitchen. On the fridge door was a Post-It note sticking to the handle, and I peeled it off before reading its message.

 _'Dear Carmen,_

 _I'm an old man, and you are a sweet girl, but my heart problems could put you in trouble one day, so I'm leaving to try and find a safe place where I won't hurt you if I die in the middle of the night, at least now you can hope that I will stay alive through this. I am going to try and find the rest of my family, if they are even alive, and I wish you the best of luck. Trust your gut, be cautious and don't let your guard down, those are my words of wisdom to you. I left you some food in the cupboards, and outside in my shed I left car parts, just so you know where to find things. Take whatever you need from here, and I didn't take much, just my gun and a little more than what I left for you food and water wise._

 _Survive Carmen, that is this old mans wish._

 _Signed,_

 _Jon'_

Of course I was sad when I finished the note, but I put it in my pocket as to have something to remember him by and leaned against the counter to reminisce. Jon was a man in his late 50'2 with heart problems, and his wife Bonny died two years ago of a heart attack. Before that happened Jon would take me outside and we'd sit in front of his shed that he'd made by hand, sitting on plastic white chairs while we sipped homemade lemonade that Bonny made us.

I never did get along with those under 21, they seemed so... Stupid. Irresponsible is a better word to describe them, but that doesn't really matter now. The couple was always nice to me though, Bonny being the one to teach me how to sew, knit and crochet while Jon taught me how to fix cars, motorcycles and the like. I went into the living room and sat my riffle onto the couch before sitting down myself, putting my head in my hands. This was a truly stressful day, not even math made me this stressed, and I haven't even eaten any food yet.

Sighing, I stood up and went outside to the shed, opening the door to look for the little red wagon that had belonged to Jon's kids when they were little, and I pulled it out and up to the house, bringing it inside to the kitchen so I could put the food inside. As I went through the cub boards I took out all the food I found. I found bread, peanut butter, jam, jelly, and a lot of canned food. I put everything I found into the little red wagon, except for the 4 big blue jugs of water, and then took it to my house, putting the wagon and its contents in the kitchen of my house before walking back over to Jon's with my now empty school bag, its previous contents spilled on the living room floor.

When I got back to Jon's house I moved the water jugs to the front door, which I had shut when I entered the home, and started searching the bed rooms and the two bathrooms after doing so. I found three new tooth brushes, five tubes of toothpaste, two bottles of mouthwash, four little containers of dental floss and then found the first aid kit. Everything I found in the house I deemed even slightly useful for the future went into my backpack or near the door if it wasn't small enough, and by the time I was finished there were a few zombies outside the front door from the noise I'd made.

Knowing that my riffle wasn't good for close range I sat the long gun against a jug of water and went into the kitchen to grab knives. I grabbed a long semi-thick knife in my right hand while the butcher knife went in my left, and I took off my backpack before opening the door, two walkers stumbling in. I jumped and stabbed the first in the head with my butcher knife before yanking it out, and I quickly moved to the right so that it wouldn't land on me. The next one stretched out its arms and I swept its legs from underneath it and, when it hit the ground, I lunged on top of it and stabbed it in the forehead. Yanking the blade back out I put the knives beside my gun and started moving everything I'd gotten over to my house.

When I finished hauling the things that I'd sat in the doorway to my house I grabbed the backpack I'd left on the floor and threw a strap over my shoulder before going to search the fridge and freezer. There was milk, orange juice, eggs, some butter and a few other things, so I took the silverware drawer from its place just below the counter top and emptied it, putting everything I wanted from the fridge I wanted into it before I checked the freezer. Inside the freezer were two square pizzas, two bags of pizza rolls, some frozen drinks in a can as well as some popsicles.

What really caught my eye was the tub of Reece's ice cream. Licking my lips, I quickly grabbed it and a spoon and sat on the countertop, resting my elbow on my knee as I ate. There were more walkers coming in to the back yard from the woods out back by the time I'd finished my ice cream, thus interrupting my peace and quiet. Sighing again, I threw the ice cream tube in the trash and grabbed the drawer full of things to be frozen or put in the fridge and took it to the front door, which is where I stopped and looked around the house once more before grabbing the knives and my riffle. I put the rifle under my arm and the knives went into the waistline of my yoga pants.

I then went back home silently, hoping not to draw the walkers. When I opened my front gate up to walk in I heard some of my chickens making noise, and I realized that I couldn't keep them outside or alive without drawing walkers to my house. Thinking over the problem as I went into the house, I decided that the basement was the best option. I went downstairs and started clearing things out, moving things to the side till I had a corner of the basement cleared, leaving behind a large bare space empty for use. I quickly made a make-shift fence around the area tall enough for the chickens not to get out and then started the slow process of taking my chickens and their nests into the basement one by one.

When I finished I went back over to Jon's house to look through his shed. I opened its door and walked over to a large object covered in a tarp with a Post-It note on it, and I quickly peeled off the note and read it.

 _'Dear Carmen,_

 _I know how much you love this motorcycle, and I have this gut feeling that you'll be able to use this bike better than I will, so now you'll have something even bigger to remember me by. Use it well._

 _Signed,_

 _Jon'_

As I remembered the hours we spent working on this bike together I smiled, looking it over. It was one of the two old motorcycles Jon owned, it was a 1969 Harley Davidson Easy Rider. Beauty in it's own right, it had glistening silver metalwork with black as the secondary color. The other bike was a 1969 Harley Davidson Electra Glide, same coloring, but both beauties in their own rights. Smiling for what felt like the first time that day I sat down on the bike I'd only been allowed to ride a few times, the easy rider was awkward at first with its high handle bars, and I'd been even shorter when I'd been allowed to first ride it, but it was still a great bike. I moved to the other bike, and it had a Post-It note on its seat reading:

 _'Dear Carmen,_

 _This is my baby. I don't want it beaten up too bad, I want it to stay working for years to come, so wear the other one down first before this one. As I said, this is my baby, and the fact that none of my kids have had the privilege of riding this baby, let alone owning it, shows how much I trust you, so don't make it mis-placed trust. Enjoy the joy rides, this baby is even more of a smooth rider than the other one, so it should be easier to ride._

 _Signed,_

 _Jon'_

I chuckled at the truth in the note. When Jon was still living here he hadn't even allowed me to touch this beauty, and so the fact that he was allowing me to own it was truly an honor, so I took it home first before the easy rider. I came back after getting both bikes home for the keys and to shut the door of the building, locking it up with the spare key Jon had let me have before he left and made my way back home, my only weapons the knives at my waist. When I got back home I put the motorcycle keys in the key dish on the table just to the right of the front door before going into the kitchen to check the time on the stove.

It read 5:43 so I rushed outside and whistled using the whistle on my necklace, calling my dogs to me. The first of my dogs to reach me was Cocoa, a five year old pit bull with chocolate colored fur, hence the name. I quickly took her inside and, when I stepped onto the porch, all my dogs were waiting in front of the door. Rudy, another five year old pit bull with orange-brown fur sat next to Price, my only adult male pit bull, and he had black fur with white spots. In front of them were the two five month old border collie puppies I had gotten from the local animal shelter, the girl, Callie, had brown fur with white spots while Cordan, the male, had black fur with white spots. The last dog was the biggest, it wasn't even a dog actually. It was a wolf I'd found as a cub, injured in the woods near my house, and I'd raised it as my own, it had grey fur, and I named it Nymeria like Arya Starks dire wolf from The Game of Thrones.

I tried beckoning them inside, but they were so used to being yelled at for going inside they weren't willing, so I had to pick them all up and take them inside one by one before they got the fact that they could come inside now. I went out to fill up their food bowls and water bowls and took them inside so they could have their supper before getting the chicken feed, taking it down to the chickens downstairs who were most likely still hungry as well before I locked up every door and window on the ground level to the outside, sighing with relief and weariness as I walked into the kitchen to make myself something.

I decided on reheating the spaghetti from yesterday's supper, which I wasn't allowed to have, and ate it with some beer that had belonged to my foster fathers, cold from refrigeration. After finishing my meal I washed my dishes off and put them away, threw away the empty beer can and went to a guest room door and opened it, putting all the food and water bowls in there before fired my attention to my dogs.

"This is your guys new room." I say, pointing to the guest room. "Now go inside. "As if they spoke English themselves they all padded right on in, except for the puppies of course, who decided it fun to sit at my feet. Sighing, I picked them up and put them into the room before shutting the door, going to my own room to get some sleep. Normally I didn't go to bed this early, but I wasn't going to complain to myself, I was more tired today than I'd ever been before, I'd get a shower in the morning. At least I got to stay in my pajamas today.


	2. More Responsibilities

The next morning I woke up, and I thought, at first, everything had been a dream, a horrible dream that I wouldn't have to worry about again and Jon would still be next door, but he wasn't, I looked outside my window and saw a walker walking alongside my fence, and with a sigh I allowed myself to realize that this was real, and that I was alone. I went outside and killed the lone zombie with my knife before grabbing enough chicken feed to bring inside, taking it to my basement to feed my chickens before I gathered their eggs. There were only two, but I had my breakfast so that was good. Next, I opened the guest room door and grabbed my dogs food bowls and took them outside, filled them, and brought them back in, filling their water bowls up as well before walking out of the room to avoid getting harassed by my dogs trying to bulldoze me over in favor of food.

I cracked the eggs and set about cooking them for my breakfast alongside some milk, enjoying my healthy breakfast. Jon had some cows, so he always had free milk, and so I was gonna go over and milk them before I tried fencing them in to try and keep them safe so that I could have fresh milk. That was what I was gonna do today, tomorrow I could go into town and raid the stores. After I washed my dishes I put my dogs back into the room, as some had strayed, and locked the door before I went to my room to get some appropriate work clothes on. I chose a pair of faded blue jeans and my purple work out tank top with a built in black and purple stripped bra, my shoes a pair of brown cow girl boots. I put my hair in a ponytail and put my knives in the holster I had around my waist that I'd hidden in my room and threw the rifle strap over my shoulder.

I then walked out of my house and locked the door, I didn't have a house key, as I hadn't looked through my foster mother and fathers corpses yet, but I was just going to climb to my bedroom window to get in until I did. I saw another walker leaning against my fence, arms outstretched with its yellowing teeth gnashing. With a look of disgust I quickly used my knife to kill it with a clean stab to the temple. When it fell I realized that it had stood on the walker I'd killed earliers corpse, and I wondered why it didn't seem to be bothered by it, or acknowledge it. Thinking it over, I shrugged before grabbing some rope and walked over to the walker and tied to to the fence, wondering if it would work or not. I then walked over to Jon's to look for his cows that wandered in his pasture. His pasture was guarded by an electric fence, but that was run by a generator running on gas, so when the gas ran out the cows become unprotected, and that was a big no no.

When I reached the fence gate I opened it and walked right in, shutting the gate right back up before I started looking for the cows. I found them near the feeder and chuckled, of course. I needed to get wood for the fences, and I could take the wood from Jon's houses back porch and use that, but I'd need his electric screw gun, so I went to his shed to look for the tool. When I found the red and black battery charged screwdriver I grabbed it and took it to the back porch and started unscrewing the nice brown wood.

By the time the day had ended I'd taken down half of the back porch, but I'd need to take all the back porch down if I wanted enough wood for the cows fence, so I was gonna have to spend the rest of tomorrow doing he same thing. When I got back to my house there were a few walkers against my fence again, and I dispatched them with a frown. If I couldn't ward zombies away with dead zombies, what about undead zombies? If I took off their arms and knocked out their teeth they couldn't infect me that way, but I didn't know if the walkers would still be hostile or not. More experiments were in order. Climbing up to my bedroom window I opened it before throwing in my rifle first, quickly followed by myself.

I shut the window and shut the curtain that covered it and walked out of my room and downstairs to get my dogs food. I was gonna let them run around the house tonight since they'd been cooped up all day, and when I opened the guest room door they all ran out past me, causing me to grin. I grabbed their food bowls and took them outside and filled them, taking them back into the guest room before filling their water bowls as well. I got the chicken feed from outside and locked the front door before going to the basement to feed my chickens. That chore done I sat about making supper, which consisted of a can of green beans, a can of corn and some ham that had been frozen in the freezer.

I ate everything except for some of the green beans and corn due to being so hungry, having had to skip lunch, and so once I put away my leftovers I washed the dirty dished before going to the bathroom to take a warm, relaxing shower. The shower was extremely calming, the heat loosening my muscles and the steam opened up my pores, and I used my face wash to clean my face of the dirt buildup there.

After washing off I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel, heading back to my room. Since I'd left my bedroom door open Callie and Cordon were sitting on my bed, Cocoa was laying down on the center of my carpet, Nymeria was laying down on the window seat and Rudy and Price were laying down beside each other at the foot of my bed. Sighing at my dogs I got dressed in my black yoga pants and my black lace lined tank top and put my knives on my bedside table with my rifle leaning against it and the wall, within reach but not to the point where I could touch it in the night, as it sat against the side not touching my bed.

Laying down, I fell asleep easy enough.

 **A Week Later**

The apocalypse could be truly amazing when it wanted to be. Not only did I have two working Harley Davidson motorcycles, I now had a red Dodge Charger for when I went on runs. It was truly a beauty, and I guess I'm just extremely lucky I've been able to live as long as I have so far on my own, but then again I guess I'm just that boss. *wink wink* Anyways, I'd completely raided the local animal shelters and pet stores, so now I had a few more dogs and even a few cats. I had kept a Blue Lacy for a hunting dog to take with me on runs from the pound, and I'd kept two fluffy cream colored Chihuahua puppies and had kept a few cats, but other than that I let the animals go on their own, even though they stayed close to my house and came to me whenever they ran into trouble. I was a cat/dog lady, so just watch me as I grow old shooting walkers with my riffle while petting my cats as they sit in my lap while I rock on my rocking chair, my loyal army of dogs at my side.

I giggled at the thought, and I looked up at the sun. It was around 6:00 A.M and I was heading over to my cow enclosure to milk my cows. I'd built their enforced fence inside the electric fence so that they had double the protection, even though I knew it wouldn't do much against a herd of the undead, and I put down my two buckets and took out my knives when I saw three walkers stumbling around near the the electric fence, one even banging on it, but it was quickly fried. I stabbed the female one first before killing the other, and I went into my cow pen and started milking, taking my time to get my milk. I had the strainer at my house now, and so when I finished milking the two lonesome cows I left with my two buckets full of milk.

When I got home I opened the front door and walked in to the kitchen, setting up the strainer with a bowl underneath it before I poured the buckets contents in through the filter slowly. After everything of the first bucket went through I put the milk in the bowl into jars to go into the fridge while I threw away the gunk left in the filter into the trash. I then did the same with the second bucket, leaving out a jar for the pancakes I'd be making. As I waited for the pan to heat up on the stove I went outside with my animals food bowls and filled them up before bringing them back in, my dogs and cats following me. I filled up the water bowls as well before I scooped out the poop from the kitty sand box in the corner of the living room and threw it into the trash as well before putting some new litter in.

I then went into the kitchen and washed my hands before I sprayed the pan with some spray grease, pouring some pancake batter I'd made with my fresh eggs and milk into the pan. I sat a plate onto the countertop with a fork and poured myself a glass of milk with the last of the milk that was left in the jar I'd left out, I sat a napkin on the plate as well before flipping the pancake with a spatula I left beside the stove. When the pancake was done I put it onto my plate before pouring a second one, eating my food in peace. I continued just making pancakes to put in the refrigerator for later after eating a secondary pancake, and after putting away the leftovers I cleaned up the dishes before I went back outside.

I decided to go on a run, so I grabbed my empty backpack that lay by the door and my Charger's car key as I exited through the front door, locking up the house with the house key that held a permanent place in my pocket. As I looked along my fence I noticed that there weren't any walkers where I'd put my lone, armless and jawless walker chained to the fence and smirked. I'd finally figured it out. Still smirking, I went to my beautiful crimson Charger and opened up the car door, starting up the engine. When it roared to life the walkers along my fence that were hostile turned towards me and started banging on my fence. Frowning, I drove up to my gate, opened it, and drove through before shutting it again. As I drove away from my house slowly I saw the walkers still coming towards me, and I drew them away from my house with the noise of my vehicle.

I kept this up till I reached town, which is where I started speeding up, zooming through the small towns streets. I didn't see many zombies yet, and I didn't think I would till the door of a furniture store burst open and a family rushed out, followed by around 30 walkers. I stopped fast and rolled down the window, not even thinking as I told the family of four to get their butts into the car. They quickly climbed in and I drove off, the family huffing and puffing in their seats as I drove away.

I stopped about a minute outside town, on the opposite side of town that I'd entered. I turned the car off and looked at the family. The woman was crying, she had a bite mark on her arm, and she held a baby in her arms. Beside her was a little six year old boy and beside me in the passenger seat sat a man, most likely the womans husband. Sighing as I leaned back in my seat, I looked back at the woman. "Step out of the car and put the baby on the seat lady. You're bit, and you could put your kids in danger if you turn to fast for me to take care of you, and you don't wanna hurt your children do you?" They lady started crying more as she did as she was told, the man stepped out with her and I told the kid to stay in the back seat of the car while I took care of the situation.

The kid looked scared as I took my Charger's keys and put them into my pocket, and I sighed again as I stepped out of the car. I seemed to be sighing a lot lately. I walked over to the couple, the man holding his sobbing wife, and I took out the pistol I'd found in my foster fathers night stand a few days ago and aimed it at the woman. "Do you wanna shoot yourself, have your husband do it, or do you want me to do it?" I ask, and the woman cries harder, thus the man gives me a dirty look. Should I have left them in the streets to be eaten alongside their children? Apparently so.

"Could you be softer on the situation? Is there any way you can stop this infection from taking her away from me. I thought it over. "I could try cutting it off." This made the woman cry harder. "No." She said weakly, and I sighed again. "Either you lose your limb or you lose your life, which is it gonna be?" The woman looked up at me asking for pity, as if I knew of another way I just wasn't elaborating on. "Look lady, those are your choices, choose before a zombie hears your crying and comes and gives you a bit on the neck that I can't stop." She started crying into her husbands shirt, and said man looked heartbroken. "Give me the gun." He told me, and I did just that.

I covered my ears when he shot the woman in the head, but as I uncovered my ears, another shot went off, and I heard a scream come from the car. The man had just shot himself, leaving me of all people with a baby and a little boy. I try to do something nice and look what it gets me. Perfect. Sighing I took my gun and looted the little things they had on them, which included a nail file, a nice pair of mens work boots, a nice pair of black Nike tennis shoes, and a few ponytail holders. I put two more bullets into my gun and climbed back into my car, my ears instantly met with the cries of a little boy.

As I drove home on a back road that went around the city the boys sniffling died down slightly. "W-why didn't you stop my dad?" He asked, and I sighed. "I didn't know he'd shoot himself and leave me with you. Don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you out in the woods with the baby to fend for yourself, besides, I needed some people to help me around the house anyways." And with that we drove home in silence sans the occasional sniffles. Looks like I wouldn't be getting many supplies today.

When we got home I opened the gate, drove in, and shut it again before parking the car in front of the front porch steps, getting out of the car. I opened up the front door and grabbed the baby and the small bag that was beside it and let the kid climb out on his own before shutting my cars door behind him. As I walked up onto my porch I unlocked the door with one hand, letting the kid in first before I walked in myself. A scream of "Puppies!" was heard as the kid picked up Callie and snugged against her, and I shook my head with a sigh. "Sit down on the couch kid, we need to talk." He put Callie down and did as he was told, and I sat down in the chair that sat opposite him.

"What's your name and how old are you? I want the same information on the baby here." I asked as I leaned back in the chair, the baby laying against my chest. "My name is Brandon, I'm six and the baby you're holding doesn't have a name, my mom was giving birth when those things attacked the hospital we were in, we barely got out of there alive and ever since then we never got the chance to name her. It's a her." Chuckling, I looked at the baby. She had the same coloring as he brother, blond hair and blue eyes, completely different from my black hair and green eyes. "Her name's Isabelle, but we'll call her Iz or Izzie for short, sound good?" I asked Brandon, and he nodded.

I looked him over a bit before tapping my chin. "Pick a puppy. I haven't named the Chihuahua's yet, so if you chose one of them you won't have to worry about renaming it, although you won't be able to go hunting with it." He grabbed Callie immediately, and I chuckled at his exuberance. "Her name's Callie, she's been somewhat trained so that'll be easier for you, but not by much as she'll see me as her master for a while, which is why you'll be the one training her. She's far more excitable than her brother, so enjoy the hand full she'll be." I giggled when the Callie started licking the boys face.

The boys face fell as the dog kept licking, and he said "I wish my mom and dad were here to see this." causing me to frown. "I'll have none of that. I'm your mom now, no matter how young I am, and you will be happy, of that I will do my best to ensure. Now go take a shower, the bathroom is the first door on your left up the stairs." I watched him put down Callie and do as he was told, and I looked at the baby in my lap with a sigh. I took the baby bag that was on my shoulder off and started looking through it, taking out a bottle of milk. Upon tasting it I found it to be sweet, meaning it was the mothers breast milk, and so I started feeding Izzie the bottle, cooing as she ate. When she finished and started coughing I thanked myself mentally for putting my hair in a ponytail at the top of my head that morning before I put a towel over my shoulder before starting to pat the babies back over my shoulder.

I heard a squelching noise and winced, finishing up the 'ritual', I held the baby in my right arm as I delicately took the puked on towel from my left shoulder and threw it into the clothes basket for later. "You're messy." I told the baby, and she giggled with a toothless grin as she clapped her hands together. Thinking over bed arrangements as Brandon took his shower, I realized he didn't have any change of clothes. Sighing, I went into the master bedroom and took out a black shirt that had belong to my foster dad, as well as a pair of his underwear and a ponytail holder to help keep the underwear up and folded them outside the bathroom door, still holding the baby.

I then went into my room and grabbed my only pink shirt, which happened to be a light, baby pink ironically, and put it on the baby, who I found only had on a diaper and a short sleeved one piece on underneath the blanket she was wrapped in. I put the clean shirt on her before wrapping her back up in her blanket, getting on my own signature black yoga pants and black lace lined tank top before going downstairs to wait for Brandon to get dressed. I laid the baby on the couch before going outside to get the food for my animals and feed said animals.

After feeding them I came out from the guest room that I'd put the dogs in to find Brandon sitting on the couch holding his little sister. "What's your name and how old are you? You never told me." I took Liz from his hands before sitting down next to him. "My name is Carmen Maxwell, I'm five days away from being 12, I've been keeping track on my calendar, and I lived here with my foster parents ever since I was six, which is when my parents had died from a car crash. My foster parents died the first day, they would have gotten me killed or died later if they hadn't so it's best that they'd gone early on. I've been on my own since then. There's a nursery in town, we can go there for supplies and the like for Izzie, my baby crib was sold when my parents died so I don't have one stowed away, but my foster parents might have kept theirs, so I'll go looking downstairs once you both go to bed and, if we don't have one, we can get one from the nursery."

Brandon just sat there, taking in all that information before... he hugged me and started crying into my side. I have never experienced someone coming to me for comfort, so this was new and extremely weird for me, so I wrapped my free arm around him and awkwardly hugged him closer, not knowing what else to do. Whenever I cried, which hardly ever happened since I refused to allow myself to be weak, I cried into my pillow so nobody could hear me, so they wouldn't come up and see me in such a state, and I was never really open with my emotions anyways, so that just made this situation all the more... odd.

I'm a soon-to-be 12 year old that has to look after cows, chickens, dogs, cats, a little boy and girl, and myself all at once in a zombie apocalypse. At least it's more exciting and understandable than math.


	3. The Visitors!

**One Year Later**

The past year hasn't been all that interesting, Brandon is a quick learner when he wants to be, and a great trainer as well, so it's no surprise that he trained Callie exceptionally well. Iz is almost completely done with the fresh cow milk I give her and is starting to eat real foods, and I am starting to feed her apple sauce among other baby foods I'd gotten from the stores in the fancy little jars.

There is now a cut out in the front door that is big enough for my dogs and cats whilst small enough to prevent walkers from wriggling in completely, which made it easier for the animals that I didn't keep inside to get to safety. It was winter time right now, and Brandon's snuggled up with Iz on the couch underneath two blankets while I'm sitting in front of the fireplace where we had an extremely small fire going.

I was cooking meats over it, mainly the strips of bacon I'd gotten from the wild boar in the woods, and some of the meat from birds I'd managed to shoot down. Once the meat was done cooking I put the bacon on the plate and out the bird meat onto another to cut up for the cats later, and I put the bacon plate in front of Brandon, and he quickly started eating the juicy meat.

He was giving small pieces to Iz every now and then, and I took the plate of bird meat to the kitchen to cut up. After dicing up the meat I out it out onto the porch and all my little kitties came and started eating while I went back inside. I went into the kitchen and unwrapped the sweet bread I'd made the day before and sliced off three pieces from the loaf and put them on separate plates before wrapping the rest of the loaf up again.

After slathering the pieces of bread with peanut butter I poured three glasses of milk, one actually being a baby bottle, and I carried them into the living room all at once. The zombie apocalypse wasn't all that exciting if you had a secure place, there wasn't much running needed, even though I had Brandon work out with me everyday just in case we would need to leave, and so we usually didn't have much to do. Since it was winter the garden wouldn't grow, we couldn't mow the lawn, the dishes were easy, and the only day to day chores I had was milking my cows and feeding my other animals.

Things were good on our end and, while that was boring sometimes, it was best for our health that way.

 **One Year Later**

The town was completely cleaned out by now, and it was winter again, and it was getting more dangerous every day. We'd let a man sleep in a spare bedroom once and he tried killing us, and so I had to kill him instead, and I could tell that Brandon was different. Instead of being completely exuberant he was far more restrained with his emotions now and, even though that was needed in most situations now, I cared about Brandon to much to let him become cold.

Recently he'd even started pushing Iz away whenever the little girl tried hugging him, and that was when I knew it had to stop. So when it was around 9:00 A.M. I had Brandon empty his backpack in his room as I grabbed mine and picked up Iz, and that's when we went to town again to get the last of the supplies. I put my knives on my belt at my waist and my riffle went over my shoulder opposite my backpack, and I held Iz in my only free hand, and I'd grown since the beginning, so I was now wearing a leather cowboy hat I'd found in old man Jon's closet, a pair of matching faded brown boots, a pair of blue jeans with a few rips here and there and a skintight navy blue tank top finished the outfit.

After Brandon hopped into the backseat I forced him to hold Iz, though he was trying greatly to refuse doing so, and with that we road to town. There were hardly any walkers around our house now due to my armless and teeth less bodyguards, and that always made going to town easier.

There were walkers here and there on the streets, but nothing we had to get worried about. There was only one store that we hadn't looted yet in town, and it's a herbal, family powned store, basically a family of hippies had been the owners, and who knew when we'd need some natural medicines, so this place was actually pretty important to us now. When we arrived I looked up all four doors with the windows 3/4 the way down, giving Iz protection from zombies, as well as air to breath.

With that I got two knives in my hands, and I went up to the door of the shop while Brandon took out his pistol that aid given him, holding it at the ready. I knocked on the door, a trick I'd figured out during the summer, and waited. I knocked thrice after that, each knock louder than the last, until I heard the familiar groans of walkers. I waited till they were banging on the door, and I counted five.

"Do you still have that silencer I gave you a while back?" I asked Brandon, and I received a nod. Holding out my hand, he gave me his pistol and the silencer and I quickly attached the silencer to the gun before handing it back. "I'm gonna break the stores glass and you'll shoot them in the head when I pull away, got it?" He nodded and I stabbed the glass door with force, right where a walker head was. The glass shattered, and I pulled back so Brandon could shoot the walker.

After doing this six more times, as I found there to be in actuality seven walkers, we ran into the store to look around. Everything was almost completely stocked, and so we started filing our backpacks, taking them to my Dodge Charger, and back again till the whole store was empty, and we'd had to move Is to the front seat to sit on Brandon's lap due to lack of room. With that we started driving home, however I pulled over about two minutes outside town and got out of the car, motioning Brandon to do the same.

He did as he was told, and he leaned against the hood of the car like I was, waiting for me to save something. "Brandon, I'm going to die one day. You're going to die one day, and so is Izzie. So why aren't you cherishing the moments you have with your little sister while you can? You aren't gonna live forever, so why are pushing your sister away instead of loving her?" He didn't look at me, just stared at the ground, and I heard him mumble, "I don't want to love, if their just going to die and get hurt in the end." I smiled a said smile, and I pulled him into a hug.

"Love is a package, pain is part of that package. If you love someone and they die, then naturally you'll be hurt and feel pain, but that's part of being human. Don't let fear stop you from loving me or your sister, because if either one of us dies, then that'll just be one of the regrets you'll hate yourself for for the rest of your life. Don't do that to yourself, o.k.?" He nodded before turning into my grasp as he began to cry into my t-shirt. I just held him there till he was sniffling, and a walker came into my view.

Ushering him back into the car I stabbed the walker in the head before getting back into the car, starting it up so we could drive home. When we arrived I backed up till we were parked in front of the porch steps, yet facing the gate, and I told Brandon to take Izzie inside and put her in her crib before coming back out to help carry in. It was cold, so we'd put Izzie's crib in my room, and Brandon was sleeping in the guest room to the left of my room for closeness in case we'd need it for anything.

Brandon helped, and he wasn't pushing me or Izzie away anymore, as evidenced when he didn't complain about taking her inside, and I was glad my little talk with him worked. When we'd put all the medical supplies into the two satchels in the bathroom and put the teas downstairs with the drinks and food we sat down on the couch, and I turned to him and asked what he wanted for supper. "Could we have some mashed potatoes and noodles?" I nodded and stood up, heading to the kitchen to make the food.

I got out the last of the pre-made chicken broth and poured it into a pan to boil while I started on Izzie's food. I got her a baby bottle filled with cow milk and a small bowl of apple sauce, thankful for the backup generator my house had, even though it was a pain sometimes supplying it with gas. Everything was going good, and I couldn't be more thankful thatI had everything under control. At least I did for now.

 **One Year Later**

We were having jerky and some frozen carrots for supper, as a way to save up on food. I can't believe that Iz is three years old now, I've been keeping count on the calendar, and I was super happy to spoil her with the coloring book, pack of 64 crayons, and the Skiper doll for the occasion, and I was planning on getting Brandon a sword and some comics for his birthday, he liked the idea of being a samurai, and he loves my Superman comic, which had been my dads before he died, so I planned on giving it to them.

There were very few towns near the one we'd cleared out last year, and they were all as small, or slightly bigger, than the one we were closest to. We'd cleared out one of the three, and we were halfway through the second, and I'd found a karate studio in the second on, so I was planning on going there whenever I got the all that in mind Isabelle was super happy about her birthday, and she was starting to talk, and Brandon and I both were more than happy to teach her.

She saw me as her mother and Brandon as the super supportive brother he is, and whenever I see them together I quietly wish they could have had a childhood without sorosis, but that just can't happen now. We were already starting on her mind, showing her zombies and telling her to stay away from them until we could train her to protect herself, and she was cared of them, but that just made her look at us in awe whenever we killed a few.

She was our little princess, and while we forbid ourselves to completely spoil her, thus dooming her, we did agree that she needed a childhood, which we were all to happy to give. Funny, I never thought I'd care for someone else besides Jon and Betty like this. All I can do is hope that Jon is alive and well, even though I know it's unlikely.

 **One Year Later**

Brandon, Isabelle and I were in the last town close to our home, and we were looting everything. Brandon had ridden the Harley Davidson Easy Rider beside my Dodge Charger, and Izzie was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window at her brother, gushing over how cool her brother looked. I laughed, he did look rather grown up for a nine year old, he looked 11, while Iz could easily pass for a five or six year old, even though she's four.

We always brought her along with us, but told her to stay in the car, but this time she was coming with us to see how we did things, and we taught her a gun before we left just in case she'd need to know. There were a few stores in this town left, and after that a few houses, but after that we might actually be forced to leave the farm.

In total, there were only three stores left we hadn't even touched, and so we stopped at the one closest to us and got out, the kids behind me with guns raised while I held two knives, one in each hand. I knocked on the door loudly and waited, and sure enough there were multiple groans, the doors were glass, and I saw around ten inside, and I pulled out a pistol of my own and opened the door, allowing them to flood out. Gunshots rang, and I felt pride as Iz actually managed to shoot one down before Brandona be I took down the rest.

When they'd all dropped I rushed to Iz and pulled her into a hug before pulling away to kiss her cheek, a large smile on my face. "I'm so proud of you baby! You did it! Soon you'll be just like me and Brandon!" She started blushing and she looked away, and I squealed at her cuteness. "I didn't do all that good."Moshe said quietly, and I waved my hand dismissively. "Nonsense! You did good for your first time, and you'll only get better!" With that I grabbed her hand and told Brandon to open up the car and grab the bags, we needed to make this a quick operation before more walkers came.

Izzie rushed alongside me, and we shoved everything we could into our bags before taking them to the car, dumping everything out, and then repeating the process. By the time we'd looted the store a whole herd was coming towards us, and we quickly jumped into our car, Brandon onto his motorcycle as I'd given it to him for his ninth birthday, and we took off, deciding to leave the stores for another day in exchange for the houses, as they'd most likely have less stuff.

The houses didn't have much, except a few peanut butter jars, which I gladly took, or a spare water bottle, which I drank while I ate peanut butter with Iz, and by the time we'd reached the last house we felt spoiled. We'd left our vehicles down the road, which I was beginning to think wasn't smart if we needed a quick getaway, but I just carried on, as I also felt it was smart to do. Izzie was in between Brandon and I as we walked up the white porch and tried opening the door, but found it locked. I looked in the window and didn't see anything, so I broke the window open and told Brandon and Izzie to stay by the cars so that they wouldn't get hurt by the glass while I went in, my hands inside a pair of leather gloves so I was fine.

The lower half of the house was empty, but I could tell that it had been used recently, especially the couch in front of the door, and so I went upstairs quietly with my shotgun pointed first, knowing it to be faster than my knives, and you don't bring a knife to a gun show, especially in an apocalypse, so I chose to be safe rather than sorry. When I turned the corner I came face to face with a gun, and holding it was an extremely beat up man who looked like he'd collapse at any second. He had a killer look in his eyes though and I gulped.

"What's your name?" He asked me,my is voice scratchy from most likely underuse with a thick southern drawl. "My name's Carmen and I'm 14 years old. Please don't kill me, I've got people to take care of, and they'll die without me." I pleaded, even though I refused to say age and names. "Who are they?" I didn't want to answer, so I just shook my head no. "Look, I just don't want you to ambush me. I've got a son with me and another woman, and I don't want them hurt either. Now tell me, who are yours?" When I was about to defy again he pushed the gun in his hands into my temple, and I knew that I wouldn't win.

"I have a four year old named Isabelle, she was born on the day the dead started walking, and her brother, Brandon, is nine years old. They're both waiting by our vehicles, and I don't want them to die. Please just let me go and I'll leave. Or, if you trust me, I can take you to my house, which is where we've been staying since the beginning, and I can patch you up, give you some medicine before sending you on your way." He looked doubtful, and was about to answer when we heard the door bang open, and fear gripped my heart.

Someone was out there. Did they have my babies? I looked at the man in fear, and he looked equally scared, and I realized that this man didn't know who was downstairs either. He quickly darted into the master bedroom and I looked done the stairs to keep watch. "Anyone there? Ha, the fuckers who looted this town completely must have left after getting the supplies, figures. Don't even have the decency to leave some for others, oh well. Check upstairs as well boys. When I heard foot steps coming towards the stairs I rushed into the master bedroom to see that the man was crawling underneath the bed. Quickly, I rushed out of the room knowing two couldn't fit under that bed and went into the bathroom and shut the door just as they reached the second floor.

I quickly hid in the bathtub behind the shower curtain with my shotgun at the ready, waiting, when they door opened and closed, the curtain was pulled open, and I pointed my gun at e person without even thinking, before air realized that it was the man from earlier. Quickly ushering him in, I shut the curtain again, and we waited. He whispered to me that he wanted to wait till they left so that he could get his things, but when someone else walked into the bathroom I knew that we couldn't stay. The man beside me seemed to have the same idea, because as soon as the man from the group downstairs unzipped his pants and started peeing the darted out and started choking the man tripping as the man started struggling and they both fell to the floor.

I quickly stabbed the man in the chokehold in the head before helping the southern man up. Shaking hands, I turned and unlocked the window and motioned for him to go out first while I looted the guy I'd just murdered, grabbing his gun and bullets and handing them to the beaten up man when he'd gotten onto the roof of the building, and he accepted them before I wriggled out as well. We jumped off the roof together and landed in the back yard, and we had to quickly put our backs to the siding of the deck before a man from the group came out to smoke.

Another man came out and they started talking, Nd they would have continued had it not been for the yell that cam from upstairs as another group member apparently found the dead one in the bathroom. When the two group members on the porch rushed inside we darted to the front yard, and I motioned the man to follow me as I ran to my car. There were two men near our vehicles, and they were yelling at it, and when I got closer I saw them pull out their guns, and I realized that Brandon and Isabelle were on the inside. I quickly stopped and took aim, shooting the one guy in the head and the second in both shoulders before rushing by them with the southern man at my heels.

"BRANDON! GET OUT AND ONTO YOUR MOTORCYCLE FAST! IZZIE, YOU STAY THERE!" Brandon darted out of the car and onto his motorcycle as the southern man climbed onto the passenger seat as I climbed onto e drivers seat, starting up the car as Brandon started up his motorcycle. With that we took off past the house we'd just been at, just as the rest of the men only group came out of the house, yelling and waving their guns around. I knew the oldest man in that group saw my face, and with Brandon's helmet on he couldn't see his face, but I just had this foreboding feeling that we'd run into them later as we darted past. About two minutes later I saw a black woman with a sword and a boy with a sheriffs hat running alongside the road, and the man beside me yelled at me to stop.

Quickly doing so, Brandon stopped beside me, and I instructed Iz to stay in the back while I stepped out of the car and walked with the southern man to the duo, Brandon staying on his motorcycle with his hand inches from his gun in case he needed to use it. "Dad." The boy a little older than me said as he hugged the man Id helped, and I saw the woman looking at me curiously. "Who's she Rick?" She asked the southern man, and I was glad I had a name for the face.

"She helped me get out of the house when a group of men came In and started looting everything. Her name's Carmen and she's 14, correct?" He asked me just to make sure, and I nodded. "The boy with me's Brandon, he's nine, and I've got a four year old girl in the back by the name of Isabelle. Do you need anything else, ?" I said, not knowing what else to call him. He laughed, and I raised an eyebrow. "My name's Rick Grimes, little girl. It's been a while since I've been called Mr. It's refreshing." I raised an eyebrow. "First off, if I were a little girl, or cared enough to be called as such, I'd be dead by now. Secondly, I like being respectful to those who deserve it and I can to tell you deserve it from what I've seen. Besides, just because other people are disrespectful doesn't mean I have to be. Just because it's done doesn't mean it's what should, be done. Do you want any medicine, or do tall wanna go on to...wherever you might have been going?"

They looked at me shocked, and I wondered how many smart girls they run in to now a days, and just shrugged. "I'd like some medicine, if it's alright with your parents. They must be wor." I cut him off there. "My parents died in a car crash when I was six, and my foster parents died the first day this thing started. Brandon and Izzie's mom got bit, so their father shot her before killing himself, and we've been alone ever since. We've never relied on an adult, so if you want medicine get into the car, I'm driving." With that I turned and hopped into my car, and all three of them climbed into the car as well, and I decided Izzie should sit in front of Brandon on the motorcycle just in case, as strangers were never to be completely trusted.

We did the long way around, avoiding the house we'd run into that other group at as we headed home, and it was about half an hour before our usual supper time when we arrived back at the house, and Brandon opened the gate for us, and I looked over to see the three in my car staring at my... safety measures.

"Walkers don't bother us nearly as much with my undead bodyguards protecting us 24/7. I figured it out near the beginning, and it's been a great help." The woman seemed to understand and take that fact in stride better then the men did, and when I parked in front of the door I got out of the car and told Brandon and Izzie to go to their rooms and lock the door, and that I'd bring supper up to them. They did as they were told, and I brought the trio of newcomers into my living room and told them to stay while I went to get the first aid kit and natural supplies.

I came back down to find Rick sitting on the couch, the kid staring at the elephant on the fireplace mantle and the woman looking at the cat sculpture I had in the window. I walked to the man and took out a spoon and my large jar of honey and filled the spoon and force fed it to Rock, admonishing him when he didn't want to eat it. "It's good for your immune system so swallow." He was grumbling with the spoon in his mouth, and he was refusing to swallow, so I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and clasped my hands together in front of me. "Please?" He sighed and licked the spoon clean, causing me to grin and the woman to grin and start laughing, but I noticed that the boy just glared at me.

Shrugging, I put the spoon to the side and started disinfecting his wounds and patching him up, telling him he'd get a sucker if he was good. When I was done I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out my brand new bag of tootsie roll centered lollipops and ripped it open before telling him to chose. He chose a cherry flavored one, and I put the bag back with my med supplies. I looked over at the boy and woman and walked over to the stand beside the couch and opened it, pulling out a Snickers and a Butterfingers, fun sized.

"Here ya go!" I say as I hand the boy the Snickers and the woman the Butterfinger. "Don't want you two to feel left out. Could you two help me carry in the groceries? After that I want to show you something special!" The woman agreed to help, and she helped carry all the groceries into the kitchen. W talked a bit, and I learned that her name is Michonne, and the boys name's Carl. Once the groceries were brought into the kitchen and put them away before asking her what she'd like. "Surprise us." And with that, she left me to cook. I decided to use up the last of the instant mashed potatoes we had, and get a plate of jerky out, and I even poured them glasses of milk. I'd stepped up on milking the cows, as they didn't look like they'd live much longer, but I decided to be nice and give some to the new comers.

After making up to plates and filling two glasses for Brandon and Izzie I took them up, smiling when I saw Brandon sitting on the bed with his sister, trying to teach her how to read with a Doctor Seuss book. Giving them their food, I told them to stack their dishes by the door and go to bed once they were done. I then went downstairs and told the trio in the living room to come into the kitchen to eat supper. I set out the plates and cups that I'd put milk in out for them and, when they looked at the milk, they looked at me in surprise.

"I've got two cows that I milk whenever I can, they're getting old though so I don't know how long they'll live. I'll show you them in the morning if you want, right now is supper time so don't let the food get cold or the milk warm before you can enjoy it." They filled up their plates, and I'd set a small dish aside for myself and told them as such, and so they put on more than I knew they would have had I not said that. They then sat down and started eating and drinking their milk, apparently not used to the flavor but still enjoying it. "Do you like the food?" I say from my seat at the head of the table, eating my food and drinking some milk.

"Yes thank you. We haven't had milk since the beginning. It's amazing." Rick said, and I smiled before turning back to my food. I could feel Carl staring, maybe even glaring at me, and I looked at him and gave him a smile, if only to majorly irk him, and started eating my food again. Looking at the woman, I noticed that she had a katana strapped to her back. "How good are you with the katana?" I ask, and she takes a drink of her milk to wash down the food in her mouth before answering. "I'd say I'm fairly good. Why?" I heard Carl snort, and I looked at him to see see an amused grin on his face. "My brother Brandon has a katana, but I don't allow him to practice much with it out on runs because he's not that good with it yet, and if you could teach him I'll make it worth your while. In fact, I'd like some help around here if either of you three would help me, and for whatever you help around with I'll give you supplies to get where you need to go. Sound fair?" I saw them nod and turn back to my food.

When we'd all finished I sent them to the living room while I washed the dishes, and when I finished I decided that I'd show them my dogs first. As I exited the kitchen the attached room was the living room, and that was the room that led to the hall where my dogs stayed, and so I ignored the trio at the moment in favor of letting my dogs out. When they rushed towards the living room I heard Carl shout, "DOGS?!" and I grinned. Oh he didn't know the half of it! As I walked back to the living room I saw Carl petting Nymeria. "You should be glad your alive. You're petting a real live wolf right now Carl." I said, and he jumped back. Grinning, I beckoned Nymeria over to me, and she did, albeit reluctantly.

"She likes you, she doesn't like many people. I found her as I pup in the woods, she was injured and I've taken car of her ever since." I looked over and saw Michonne petting Rudy and Rick was petting Price with my other dogs at their feet. I saw Callie try and get close to Carl, only to get growled at, and I giggled. I pet Nymeria again before sending her to Carl, who looked petrified when the wolf sat down on his lap and started licking his face. I was rolling around laughing, and when Carl realized I was laughing at him, he glared at me and tried pushing Nymeria off of his lap, only for her to put her paws on his chest and keep licking. Sighing, I sat up and ordered Nymeria back, and I saw Carl sigh in relief. When the dogs had to go to the bathroom they walked out the hole in the door, and I heard Michonne chuckle. "So that's why you have that hole." I nod before going outside to bring in my dogs food and refill my cats bowl with some meat.

With that done I went inside to feed my chickens. "Follow me if you want to see something you also haven't seen since the start." They all stood up and followed me to the basement, and when I turned on the lights, they saw my chickens and gasped. "This is my little chicken coop, I'd moved it indoors on the first day so that they wouldn't get eaten, or give walkers extra incentive to break in. They haven't seen the sun except through the window in a few weeks, I usually take them to their original coop every now and then so they can be outside, but that's it for the most part."

They walked over to the coop and watched me as I went inside to feed them, I just fed them grass that I'd cut near the right back corner of my house, and they gobbled it up. I also had some grains mixed in, and so when they wouldn't eat any more I sat the bucket I'd put their food in outside their pen and let them fall asleep, ushering the trio that had followed me down back up the stairs. When we arrived back at the living room they sat down, and I did as well, only opposite them. "I'll have Rick milk the cows tomorrow, Michonne you can teach Brandon how to use his katana and Carl, you'll be helping me teach Isabelle and help me clean up around the house, there are some things I can't clean due to my height, or lack thereof. I want you three to take notice how much trust I'm putting in you, the last guy I let stay tried killing us so he could have what we have, and I don't want to have to kill more people in front of Brandon and Isabelle just because they betrayed us, it isn't good for their mental health to see people being put down yet, at least in Izzie's case, so I don't want that happening, o.k.?" They nodded, and I nodded back.

"You can stay in the Master Bedroom. It's the biggest room, and I haven't stepped foot into that room since I took everything useful from it, so you can figure out sleeping arrangements in there. Follow me, and I can take you up." I said as I stood up, and they followed me upstairs to the last room on the right, which was a room I hadn't stepped into in years. "Sorry if it's a bit dusty, but I didn't think that you'd want to sleep apart from each other, and the living room furniture isn't suitable for sleep, so I hope you can make due. If you want a shower, the bathroom works but make it fast, i'd like one as well." With that I left to check up on Brandon and Liz, maybe read them a bedtime story before washing their dishes as well.

 **Hey guys! So, I hope you liked this chapter, and I just want to say I'm super excited for the next episode coming on Sunday! _SPOILER WARNING!:_ I'm pretty sure it was Glenn on the radio, and I can't wait to see if that's true or not, hopefully it is, and if it is I'm going to throw a party! By myself! Because I have no friends who watch The Walking Dead that would party with me...that got depressing. Anyways, review telling me if I did something good or bad, next chapter is going to be slightly exciting, and I want to see if anyone can predict what will happen!**

 **Chow for Now! Peace:)**

 **elizarocks9902**


	4. Home Invasion

I woke up at the crack of dawn like I always did that morning and immediately went to the bathroom to get a shower, as I hadn't the night before as I'd decided to stay with Izzie and Brandon just in case they needed protection. The shower felt great, the dirt washed off my skin and went down the drain, and I decided to splurge with shampoo and conditioner to clean my hair today, so after I washed my hair I used some body wash as well before getting out, wrapping myself in a towel and turning the light off before stepping out of the bathroom, only for a blush to overcome my face when I saw that Carl, at least if I remembered correctly, was standing in the hallway, most likely aiming to head downstairs. I quickly moved past him and went to my room and got dressed, deciding today on a flannel that was green and black checkered that hung right above my belly button, faded blue jeans with a few rips on the right thigh and a pair of brown cowgirl boots that had been my foster moms, my foster dads expensive real brown leather cowboy hat was put on my head as an afterthought, my hair put into a low ponytail.

When I went downstairs I saw Brandon already making pancakes with Izzie as his little helper, Rick, Michonne, and Carl were sitting in the living room. I went downstairs and fed my chickens before I came back up, opening the guest room I'd put my dogs in the night before and moved out of the way just in time to avoid the barrage of dogs bursting out the door. Chuckling, I grabbed their food and water bowls and took them outside, filling them up and bringing them in one at a time, setting them down in the guest room so that they didn't slosh everything on to my carpet in the living room before scooping out the kitty crap from the litter box and putting in a bit more sand.

"You look like a cat woman. When I set the cat food bowl down outside I want you to wait by the window and watch, look over the cats that come and choose which one you want to keep, you can have whichever one you want." I said to Michonne as O grabbed a plate and sat one of the last fish I had in a bowl and chopped it up into small pieces before setting it outside, and just like I assumed Michonne was waiting by the door. I handed her a special can of cat food I had left and winked. "This will guarantee the cat will view you as its owner." With that I went to the kitchen to find Carl and Rick already at the table wolfing down pancakes with glasses of milk.

"Michonne might be occupied for a while, put the pan on simmer and wait for her to come in before cooking her food, make your own now. Thanks for the food Brandon." I say before sitting down and eating my own two pancakes with my side of milk. "I think I'll kill a chicken tonight for supper, sound good Izzie?" I ask the little girl with my mouth slightly full, and she giggles as some of the pancake flys out of my mouth and back onto my plate. "Sounds good, Caw-Carmen. But could you have Bw-Brandon cook it? You always make the meat dw-dry." She corrected herself, and I smiled at her trouble with the letter r.

"Sure sweetly, but I'll have to help so he doesn't burn himself like last time." Last time Brandon cooked chicken he burned his finger, and I'd had to go on runs by myself for a week before it got better, that had been a horrible week indeed. "You still haven't forgotten about that?" I heard Brandon mutter at the stove, and I giggled. "Nope. I don't think I'll ever let you live that particular fail down." I then stick my tongue out before going back to eating, oblivious to Brandon rolling his eyes.

Five minutes later Michonne walks in, a black cat with seemingly glowing green eyes on her shoulder. "You caught Ghost. She usually hates humans, I'm glad you're the exception. You can change her name if you'd like." Michonne shakes her head. "I'll call her Ghost, it's a btter name than what I would have called her anyways." I chuckle and shake my head before telling Brandon to start cook Michonne's food, and so he finishes the last of his food before doing so.

"Rick, I'll take you down to the cows now, if you'd be so kind as to follow me." I say as I stand up, walking away from the table and out the door over to the cow pen, Rick's gun our only protection sans the knives on my person. When he saw the pen he whistled. "I still can't believe you have as many animals as you do, it truly amazes me." I smile at him and, after handing him the buckets I'd sat beside the gate into the enclosure, I sent him on his way with basic instructions.

I went back home with the feeling that I was being watched, but I just brushed it off and headed inside after going through my front gate. Inside I saw that Izzie had already gotten out her math workbook and was working on it with Carl, so after sending Michonne and Brandon up to Brandon and Izzie's room to practice with swords I took to washing the dishes.

The sun was beautiful, my yards grass wasn't mowed, but I thought it gave the place character and more natural beauty, and I truly saw, in those few moments how picturesque the scene was outside my window before I finished dishes, and I had to help Carl teach Izzie addition and subtraction.

 **Time Skip**

When nighttime came everyone was tired, and so instead of making chicken I made everyone some cinnamon or apple oatmeal before we washed our faces and went to bed. Issue went to bed with Brandon, both giving my a hug before waving and disappearing into their room and Rick, Michonne and Carl even waved goodnight with smile smiles before going into the master bedroom to sleep or relax or whatever. Me? I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and brushed my hair before going to bed, the feeling of being watched intensified as I opened my window, and I couldn't help but fear that something bad was gonna happen.

 **Time Skip**

I was roughly woken up by someone grabbing my hair and pulling me out of bed, my screams of pain from said act ignored by the individual. I was gagged as I was dragged downstairs, kicking and screaming, though all that came out was groans. By the time I was downstairs I was bruised, but I'd stopped not because I was tired, but because I decided to save my energy for when I'd need it. I was shoved down into my knees before my hair was pushed out of my face and the gag was ripped from my mouth, and I saw the situation I was in.

An old man with longish silver/dark grey hair was holding a knife to Isabelle's throat, and another was holding an even longer knife to Brandon's throat beside the silver man. Rick, Michonne, Carl and I were all on our knees in a line in front of the group of men that were our foes, and I growled. "Why are you here?" I ask, my tone threatening, but I was really slightly scared when the man chuckled and pushed the knife closer to Izzie's neck, causing her to whimper, her Hannah Montana pajamas still on her form.

"You look like you have more bark then bite, and I'll take pleasure in beating it out of you. You killed two of our men, and you must pay." I widened my eyes as I finally recognized the man before me, and my fear grew slightly. _'How was he able to track us?'_ "O.k., then why do you have them at knife point. If it's me you want then why hurt them?" I ask, wanting the answer yet dreading it. "You're obviously close to them. I'll have a little fun with the girl and beat around the boy again before killing them, and by doing this I. Front of you, plus letting my men take you for a ride, should more than suffice as payment for what you've done against my group."

My fear instantly left me as I heard his words. You can hurt me, you can rape me, you can kill me, but if you dare hurt a hair on either Izzie or Brandon's head I'll fucking stab a bitch. "BITCH I HOPE THE FUCK YOU DO! YOU GON BE A DEAD SOMEBITCH I TELL YOU DAT!" I scream before ripping open my shirt to rummage through my bra quickly, taking a knife from the bras confines and throwing it at the man with a knife at Izzie's throat, the one who'd threatened my family, and I watched in satisfaction as he dropped dead with the knife right in his heart.

I saw Rick head butt the hand holding a gun near his hand away, resulting in a bullet flying by his head, and I saw him hunch over and hold his ears while Carl was pushed to the ground by a fat man, and I saw Michonne kick the dude behind hers gun away before getting into a fist fight. I quickly stood up and grabbed the gun that had been kicked to the floor by Michonne and spun around, shooting the man that was holding Brandon captive with a knife in the head before urging the boy to run, and he did so, dragging his sister up the stairs to their bedroom.

I saw the silver haired man sitting up, and I realized that he was a walker, and I shot him in the head before shooting the man off Carl, a single bullet whizzing into the fat mans head. Michonne had already knocked out the guy she'd been fighting, and Rick had bitten the neck of the dude that he'd been fighting, said man was on the floor, barely breathing as blood gushed out of his neck. The carpet rolled out on my floor had once been white, but it was now splattered with red and marred beyond cleaning with what meager cleaning supplies I had underneath my sink, so I knew that the stains wouldn't go out.

After shooting everyone from that group in the head to make sure they wouldn't come back I heard the door creak, and in walked a redneck looking man with a crossbow. "Rick?" "Daryl?" The two older men shared a bro hug before separating, and I could tell they were close. "What happened here?" Daryl asked , and I stepped forward. "This is my farm house. I ran into your former group a few days ago and killed a few of their men trying to get away, and somehow they found us. We can't stay here anymore though, who knows what could be headed this way after all those gunshots were released. Rick, I want you going outside and putting the rest of the dog food in the blue travel tote I'd left by it, and when you're done with that I'll need you to cut grass and put it into some travel containers for my chickens. Michonne, I'd like you to gather everything in the kitchen together, anything that needs frozen will be eaten tonight before we leave or on the road, maybe even cooked beforehand if we have time. Daryl, I have some hunting bags downstairs and an open gun safe, I need you to put all the weapons downstairs in the bags and out them outside near the dog food where Rick will be working. Carl, I'd like you to gather up everything you, Rick and Michonne had upstairs as well as packing up the bathrooms. I'll be upstairs, I'm gonna be helping Brandon and Izzie pack."

We all went our separate ways, and I mentally applauded Daryl for not asking any unnecessary questions, just getting to the job. I heard sobbing halfway up the stairs, and my heart broke at the sound of the childish cries. I quietly knocked on the door, and Brandon peaked out before letting me in. On the bed sat Isabelle, clutching her stuffed teddy bear, tears streaming down her face as she hiccuped, said hiccups not deterring her from crying more. "Isabelle baby. Come here." She shook her head at first, clutching her pillow harder, so I sighed and tried again. "Please Izzie?" Ozzie looked at me with shining eyes and slowly got off the bed, creeping towards me slowly like I'd hurt her at any second.

"What's wrong baby?" I asked when I finally held her trembling form in my arms, and I couldn't do anything as she just started sobbing,louder into my shoulder, her little arms clutched around my neck. "This place is bad mommy." She said in between hiccups, and I froze. That was the first time shed called me that, as both Brandon and I had told her to call me Carmen, but I didn't stop her as I realized that I was the closest thing the a mother this little girl has ever known, so I just start rubbing her back, not caring to correct her anymore. "I-I don't wanna stay hew-hic-here anymore mom-hic-mommy. What if more -hic- bad people -hic- come here-hic-?" I sighed. "We're leaving this place behind baby. We'll find some place even better than this one, and it'll be safer than this place as well."

She nodded into my shoulder, and I told Brandon to start packing his and Izzie's clothes while I laid down with Izzie on the bed, trying to get her to sleep. She seemed to hate the bed now, so we took the blanket and two pillows to the floor to lay down. Once she'd fallen asleep I put Brandon's belt with his pistol holster attached around his waist, giving him a kiss on the forehead as I told him to continue packing and to watch over his sister before I took my leave, heading to my own room to pack.

I packed my jeans and work shirts, my tank tops and my few shorts, as well as my red high tops and my various work boots. I packed my IPod and its charger, my IPad and its charger and my black headphones, as well as my white Apple earbuds. I packed up my junk food stash that I sometimes shared with Brandon and Izzie, and packed the last Pepsi in the house in one of my bags before carrying the four bags downstairs. I was leaving everything behind, but I couldn't stop myself from grabbing what had been my moms favorite book, the Bible, and the two wedding rings that had been given to me when they'd died. I put the one that belonged to my dad on my left ring finger, and the one belonging to my mom on my right ring finger, as well as a third ring, my moms engagement ring, going on my right middle finger, the only finger it fit on.

Once my bags were by the door I went and helped Michonne pack up the rest of everything in the fridge, and I found out that we had a frozen pizza that we'd been saving for a special occasion still uneaten, two pizza hot pockets, a half eaten chocolate ice cream carton and a box of vanilla pudding Popsicle's that needed eaten, so as we worked we were munching on the vanilla Popsicle's, leaving three so that Carl, Izzie and Brandon could have one as well. We also had milk, so we decided that while we'd have water bottles, we'd be drinking all the milk before drinking any water so that at least most of it wouldn't go to waste.

We also threw the pizza and hot pockets into the oven while we decided who got the rest of the chocolate ice cream, and we decided that Rick and Daryl could have the rest. I left Michonne to watch over the pizza and hot pockets while I went to help Daryl with the guns. He had almost everything packed, but I helped him pack the last of it. "Damn girl, you had an arsenal down 'ere. You raid a gun store or somthin'?" He questioned, and I smirked and nodded.

"The more expensive looking things belonged to my foster parents, but the majority of my arsenal is from whenever I hit up what was left of gun shops or some houses near here. It's nice living out in the country near a bunch of rednecks during an apocalypse, most aren't smart enough to figure out how to survive or fortify a place, so when they die I can get their stuff. You look smart though, highly doubt even if you'd been alone in the beginning, which I don't think is the case, that you would've died. It's nice meeting smart people in this world, most just use this new world as a chance to be stupid." He nodded in agreement, and when we finished packing up the last box of bullets I helped him carry the bags upstairs and outside, putting the bags into the trunk of my Dodge before I sent him off to help Rick while I went inside and up the stairs to help Carl.

He was packing up everything I'd left in the master bathroom by the time I stepped into the room, so I told him I was taking one of the backpacks he'd gotten out of the master bedrooms closet to start packing up everything in my bathroom before doing just that. I had already packed two Q-Tip boxes, a bottle of Listerine mouth wash, five bottles of toothpaste, seven toothbrushes and 3 bottles of dental floss by the time Carl came to the bathroom I was in with three bags of things from the master bedroom, and since there wasn't much in that bathroom I was guessing at least two of those bags were filled with clothes.

He helped me pack up the rest of my bathroom, which held most everything for health care and the like, and we ended up filling two and a half bags, the half full bag ended up being stuffed with bras and panties from the Master bedroom, as Carl hadn't dared pack any. By the time we'd gotten downstairs the pizza was done, so we quickly put the bags into the back seat of the Dodge before going back inside to eat. I brought Brandon and Izzie downstairs, though I had to blindfold Izzie and basically drag her so that she didn't see the blood stained carpets, and I had to drag her into the kitchen because she was so fearful of the downstairs of the house now, something that made me feel guilty about taking her downstairs in the first place.

We ate the pizza in silence and, after eating a single slice and drinking a glass of milk, I went upstairs to bring down the one sleeping bag we had, two travel pillows and five blankets, putting them into the back of the car as well before I went back inside to pack up my chickens. I only took two and killed the rest, giving them to Daryl as he seemed to know what to do with dead animals before I let out my dogs that were still in the guest room. I really didn't know how I was going to take them, and since I was going to take them along, I needed to think, and fast. I couldn't attach the trailer we had in the back of the house, as my car wouldn't pull it, and the truck my foster parents had owned was a horrible thing when it came to saving fuel, so that was a no go.

Maybe Michonne could drive the Dodge with Lizzie and the smaller dogs up front with the rest of the dogs in the back? We'd have their food in the trunk, so they wouldn't starve, Brandon and Carl could hopefully ride on the Electra Glide with me, and Daryl could ride the Easy Rider with Rick, at least if the man knew how to drive a motorcycle, if he didn't Brandon could drive the Easy Rider with Rick and Carl while I rode the Electra Glide with Daryl. That situated, I walked into the kitchen and told everyone to get a move on, and after blindfolding Lizzie I picked her up and took her outside, this time she didn't resist, she only wrapped her little arms around my neck and refused to let go.

When I sat her down and took her blindfold off she tried grabbing for e again, but instead I turned and called for Cordon, who came over and went straight for Lizzie licking her face when she started putting him. She giggled as his tongue started licking her face all over and started petting her dog before I called him away. I had Cocoa, Rudy and Price get in the front seat alongside the two Chihuahua's, who I decided to name Cream and Vanilla, Vanilla being the female and Cream being the male. I also put in three cats, one being Michonne's black one, who she called Midnight, an orange and white stripped cat with green eyes, which was female like Michonne's, who I called Popsicle, as he reminded me of an orange push pop, and a beautiful white coated male cat with crystal sky blue eyes, who happened to be my favorite. Michonne came out and I told her she'd be driving the car just as I put my two chickens, who I'd put in separate small dog carriers, into the backseat. There was room only for Cordon in the backseat, and even then he couldn't move much, so after putting the dog in I shut the door just as Michonne hopped in, handing me her sword to hold which I strapped to my back.

Rick and Brandon came out with Daryl and Carl, Daryl with his crossbow, and I asked the crossbow wielding man if he could drive a motorcycle. "Sure can little lady." He answered, and all I could think was, _'That's convenient.'_ before telling him to get on the Easy Rider with Rick, and I swore the man almost ran to the bike with a bounce in his step. Shrugging, I looked at the dogs I had left, and I wondered who I could take. "What am I gonna do with the rest of my dogs?" I ask them, and I see Daryl shrug in his seat. "Like I know." I growled as I heard a few walkers starting to bang on my fence, and I quickly looked around me. there was a pile of scrap wood that I hadn't used for the fence for the cows, who I obviously decided to leave behind, and I immediately ran to it, and idea forming in my mind.

It took me about an hour with some help from Rick and Daryl and the last of the batteries in my power tools, but I'd made a make-shift 10 ft. by 8 ft. trailer, which took up both all the wood I had and the last of my screws, and once I took the wheels of the two wheelbarrows I had for collecting grass and attached them I made a hole that I could put rope through. Far to many walkers were banging on the fence for my liking, so by the time I'd attached the make shift trailer to the back of my Dodge with my strongest rope my gate looked ready to topple over, so I got the rest of my dogs on the trailer before telling Brandon, Daryl and Michonne to start up their vehicles, which they did, and I ran to the gate of my fence and threw it open before I started to kill the walkers that had gathered around it.

I took one down by sweeping out its legs and stabbing it in the head, and when one got to close for comfort I put both my arms on the ground and made my right leg go straight while my left leg shot out, hitting the walker in the chest while I stood up completely, side kicking another walker that got to close before kicking in the zombies head that was trying to stand again to bite me. All of a sudden I was grabbed from behind, and I moved my head to the side waiting for the walker to take the bait, which it did, and just as it was about to bite my neck I stabbed it sloppily in the forehead, causing the decaying body to fall to the ground. The zombie that I'd kicked to the ground and hadn't killed was standing again, and there were two more walkers around me, one on either side of me and one behind me.

I knew if I ran I'd most likely get chase, so I decided to kill the walker on my right by throwing my knife into its head before turning and front kicking the walker that had been on my left, sending it crashing to the ground while I lifted up my left leg and sent a side kick into the gut of the walker that had been behind me. I threw the second knife I had in my left hand into the one I'd put on the ground first before stomping the one I'd side kicked in the head, sending tainted blood and brain matter everywhere.

By the time I'd gotten my knives back from the walker heads I was tired since I wasn't used to the workout, and just then I moved out of the way so that Michonne could drive past me. Drive past me she did, she went passed me at about 20 miles per hour, as these were dirt roads and the tires on the car weren't meant for that, and Daryl and Rick went even slower by me, Brandon stopped in front of me and I shut the gate of the fence before I climbed on, putting the bike glasses I had dangling from the handlebar while I handed the bike helmet hanging from the opposite handlebar to Brandon before taking off at a slightly faster speed than Daryl was, ignoring as the walkers started stumbling after us.

I only looked back at my farmhouse once, and I sighed when I did so. That place had been safe for so long, it actually hurt to leave it behind, but in this world I had no choice.

 **Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter, I realize that I forget things, and I actually forgot _CARL_ in this chapter, not once, but three times, and so if you are confused about anything please tell me. Sorry if you don't like this chapter, and if you don't please tell me why! Anyways, I do hope that this was at the very least enjoyable!**

 **Chow for Now! Peace:)**

 **elizarocks9902**


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